When you pray – what do you pray for? What issues are paramount in your prayers? Do you have trouble thinking of things to pray for the people whom you care about the most? Prayer is a most amazing blessing for us but sometimes we all find it too difficult and it finishes up a last minute thought at best. I am not sure about you but I am still feeling a little numb after being reminded that as a Christian I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. How could this be? Why should this be the case? Sometimes it is hard to get your mind around the magnitude of these blessings. It is almost impossible to take in. Imagine being given the spiritual blessings of election, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom and understanding, knowledge of God’s will, an inheritance and a seal for our salvation. Again I say that this is exceedingly difficult to comprehend.
In today’s Bible reading we note that Paul too sees the difficulty for the Christian to take in the wonder of these spiritual blessings. Paul is ever so thankful that the ordinary Christian knows Jesus. He praises God for them. However, Paul is so keen for every Christian to know the depths to which they are loved by God and to understand what they have been given as gifts in Christ. Paul realises that for the Christian to understand and grasp these priceless treasures their minds require surgery. This surgery is the need for a revelation to take place. These truths need to be revealed to each Christian through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. So Paul prays! Paul prays for revelation in the lives of all Christians. He intercedes for them, calling out to God to give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they may know Him better.
Not only this but he prays that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened so that they may really understand the hope to which they have been called and to grasp the riches of God’s glorious inheritance. Now this is one mighty prayer! Imagine if we prayed this prayer for those we love and care for – our children, our parents, our siblings, our friends, work mates and those brothers and sisters who comprise this church gathered here at Kogarah. How special this would be. Imagine the spiritual maturity that would suddenly grip those people we love and pray for. So we have an example of a ‘life of prayer’ before us this morning. Why not insert the names of the people who matter to you and pray a prayer like this every day!